Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Having watched the True Blood tv series before reading any of CHarlaine Harris’ books, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the source material. It turns out that the Harris books are funnier than the series. They also address some of the moral issues (mainly, how Sookie feels about the fact tht Bill is a killer) that are glossed over in the series.

There are differences between the first season of True Blood and this first novel in the series – I missed seeing so much of Lafayette, and Tara is completely absent from this book. There is still a lot of hot sex, though, and Sam is as gently compelling here as in the show.

Enough of comparisons, though. Dead Until Dark, taken on its own terms, is a a fun read. Sookie is vivacious, smart though naive, afflicted with a ‘gift’ and enthusiastic about the new and unusual in life. Bill the Vampire (and I loved how she laughed at his prosaic name) is brooding and mysterious, a real Darcy-esque vampire, but with enough that is different and intriguing to set him a little apart from the vast array of brooding romantic vampires out there.

With an unworldly but intelligent heroine, a cast of interesting and textured characters to populate her world, and a horde of vampires just as varied, it’s hardly surprising that the Sookie Stackhouse novels are so popular, or that they have inspired such a popular TV series.

Captivating, engaging, fun, inspiring

Narrelle is an incredibly knowledgeable, articulate and energetic presenter. That coupled with her great sense of humour made for an extremely entertaining evening. Olivia Simaitis, Waurn Ponds Library.
Book Narrelle M Harris as a speaker